Superload coming through south western Victoria

A 663 tonne “superload”, the largest seen on Victorian roads in recent years, will be transported from the Port of Geelong to Haunted Gully at Lismore from Monday 7 January

Thursday 10 January Update

It’s the final leg of the Superload’s journey tonight. Its been an epic journey and we are really excited about reaching Haunted Gully tomorrow.

Thank you to the thousands of people who have followed the superload – it has been great visiting towns and to see your photos and videos.

The Superload will leave Swan Marsh at 10pm tonight and make a 78 kilometre journey to Haunted Gully.

There’s a lot of complexity, so if you want to catch a glimpse of the load we recommend you check its progress on VicTraffic (available from your App Store) or the VicTraffic Twitter feed (@VicTraffic) (which we will update each hour from 10pm).

At this stage we expect the Superload to take about four hours to travel along Cobden – Stonyford Road, before turning right into Camperdown – Cobden Road and reaching Camperdown between 4am – 6am.

The Superload travelling through Beeac

Wednesday 9 January Update

The 663-tonne load is currently parked in Beeac, where you can view it any time today.

The Superload will travel from Beeac tonight at 11pm and park in Swan Marsh tomorrow morning.

We have added an extra night to the journey, to give the load enough time to travel safely. Camperdown residents will now be able to catch a glimpse of the load early Friday morning between 1am – 3am.

The Superload will reach its final destination in Lismore on Friday morning.

Tuesday 8 January Update

The 663 tonne Superload experienced delays as it made the second leg of its journey from Waurn Ponds to Beeac last night, which resulted in a temporary closure of Colac-Ballarat Road.

The delays were due to several factors including getting a flat tyre at around midnight. As you’d expect with a load of this size and weight, changing the flat tyre took some time to fix.

Monday 7 January Update

The Superload will be departing Port of Geelong tonight at 11pm. The best place to catch a glimpse of it is from the Norlane Pool carpark at 11:30pm

The Superload only travels at night, from 11pm – 5am

The Superload route has been chosen to avoid bridges and culverts that are not designed to carry 663 tonnes.

The Superload is now going to park at Waurn Ponds on Tuesday 8 January at 5am - not Conns Lane Winchelsea as previously advised.

Members of the community are welcome to come and view the Superload while it is parked at the Waurn Ponds Rest Stop on Princes Highway anytime Tuesday 8 January, from 5am – 11pm

The Superload will now pass through Winchelsea on the night of Tuesday 8 January, at around 11:30pm.

The Superload leaving Geelong on night one

This massive vehicle – 115 metres long, 5.12 metres wide and 5.5 metres high – will be hauled by four trucks in an operation spanning three nights to reduce the impact on the road network and alleviate congestion for drivers.

Carrying its weighty transformer cargo, the superload will be longer than an A380 Airbus and will be so big that vehicles will not be able to overtake.

VicRoads Acting Director of Heavy Vehicle Services Marc Paglia said the sheer weight and size of the transformer meant the average travel speed would be approximately 15-20km/h, taking much longer than a normal journey.

“This is a complex and dynamic operation that has been months in the planning – we’ll be monitoring this convoy every step of the way to ensure the smoothest possible journey and the safest possible road network,” he said.

“We will have a convoy crew across the journey, preparing roads and structures ahead of time and assessing the area once it has passed.”

The first leg of the journey will start at 11pm on Monday 7 January and travel from Port of Geelong, along St Georges Road, Cox Road, onto Geelong Ring Road and then along Princes Highway to Winchelsea, where it will park during the day of Tuesday 8 January.

The second leg of the journey will start at 11pm on Tuesday 8 January and travel along Princes Highway from Winchelsea, turn right into Colac-Ballarat Road travel to Beeac and reach and park at Swan Marsh at 5am Wednesday 9 January.

The final leg of the journey will start at 11pm on Wednesday 9 January from Swan Marsh, and travel along Princes Highway, along Stoneyford Road, Camperdown-Lismore Road, coming right through Camperdown before continuing on and reaching Haunted Gully by 5am on Thursday 10 January.
“We’ve carefully planned and reviewed this route multiple times over several months to balance the best journey for the convoy while reducing disruptions to other drivers,” Mr Paglia said.

Traffic lights and signage will be moved and replaced by support crews and steel supports placed over existing drains to ensure the convoy has the safest possible journey and doesn’t damage important infrastructure on the way through.

“We’ll be escorting this convoy to help ensure a straight forward journey, but it’s important to note drivers may experience delays if they encounter this huge, rolling transport,” Mr Paglia said.

The transformer that is being transported

Superload facts

663 tonnes

115 metres long – longer than an Airbus A380 (which is 73 metres)

The superload is 5.12 metres wide – so will take up two lanes of the road to travel

5.5 metres tall

Biggest superload to ever come to south western Victoria.

It will be moved by four prime movers - with three trucks at the front pulling, and one at the rear pushing the load.

Plan your journey

If you need to travel in south west Victoria on these nights, we recommend using the Hamilton Highway or planning ahead by allowing 30-45 minutes additional travel time as traffic will not be able to pass the superload.